MITCH Curriculum, Standards, Vision, Mission

MITCH Student Achievement and Academic Performance
2017 MITCH Charter School Evaluation Report, PSU School of Education Center for Student Success MITCH Charter School Evaluation Report

Student Achievement

Successful student learning and achievement takes place when excellent teachers have more freedom of choice on how to utilize coherent curriculum that is sequentially structured to build knowledge year-by-year. As a public charter, we are required to
teach to state standards, which is Common Core State Standards (CCSS). We have more latitude than traditional public schools about the curriculum we choose, and we have integrated excellent, research supported curricula to create a K-5 program of study that is instrumental in students meeting the CCSS. Think of the CCSS as a building frame for our curriculum – we do not simply teach the standards, but focus on mastery of content
knowledge as the essential component for student achievement.

MITCH Curricula

Core Knowledge Sequence (CKS)
- CKS is a knowledge-based, sequential curriculum framework in language arts, history and geography, visual arts, music, and mathematics, as well as science and health. The emphasis is on building a strong foundation in a core body of broadly shared knowledge so that our students can be literate and effective leaders in their communities.
Codebreaker Language Arts (CLA)
- English language is simple and straightforward in that written language is a code generated from spoken language. CLA curriculum teaches students to code and decode – write and read -- by mastering the rules which match written language to what we say, as well as the rules which keep the written language consistent. Using direct Socratic instruction students have many opportunities to master known oral language and their spelling which empowers them to read.
Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)
- IEW, a sequentially scaffolded curriculum, develops oral and written language skills beginning with the imitation of mentor texts through the development of creative writing skills. Students are taught structure and style with an emphasis on a continuous cycle of listening, speaking, reading, writing and thinking.
Eureka Math
- It’s not enough for students to know the process for solving a problem; they need to understand why that process works. Teaching mathematics as a "story," Eureka Math builds students’ knowledge logically and thoroughly to help them achieve deep understanding. While this approach is unfamiliar to those of us who grew up memorizing mathematical facts and formulas, it has been tested and proven to be the most successful method in the world.
Agriculture
- Agriculturally-centered Project Based Learning engages students in culturally responsive, deep learning opportunities. Three-week long Agroecological projects root students' classroom skills and knowledge in real-world experience with nature, food production and diverse culinary traditions. Our school garden is the site where much of this learning happens. A greenhouse is planned for installation by Spring of 2021.